Matt Flowers-Muhlenberg

Xzavion Robertson has become one of the top scorers in the Berks Basketball Conference, but Muhlenberg showed on Friday that its bench is pretty good too. Eric Branch, Alex Collado, and Luis Valentin combined for 24 points in a 70-38 rout of Gov. Mifflin. “They brought the intensity. They brought the 3-pointers. They brought a whole lot of energy that we needed to spark our run,” said head coach Matt Flowers. The Muhls raced out to a 7-0 advantage in the league opener at Laureldale. The Mustangs answered with eight straight points. Muhlenberg countered with a 10-0 spurt to go up 17-8. “Dan Dan” Mosquera hit a triple from the right corner as time expired. Flowers told me that he thought the shot came after the buzzer, however the officials counted it. Gov. Mifflin trailed 21-13 after eight minutes. Robertson jammed ten points into the first quarter. The 5’11 senior guard finished with a game-high 19 points. The Mustangs went scoreless for three minutes and 14 seconds to begin the second period. Collado connected from long distance to give the Muhls a 31-16 edge with three minutes remaining before halftime. Muhlenberg led 33-21 at the break. The Muhls’ bench outscored Gov. Mifflin’s reserves 12-2 in the first half. Branch drilled two treys in the third quarter to make it 48-24. The 5’11 senior is averaging ten points this season. Collado and Valentin are providing six points apiece on a nightly basis. Muhlenberg made eleven shots from beyond the arc. “If we’re in rhythm and the ball is moving, it’s going down. We don’t emphasize just shoot 3’s. Let’s get to the rim but if the shot is there, take it. I’ll live and die by that 3-pointer,” stated Flowers with a grin. The (5-2) Muhls held the (2-3) Mustangs to 15 points over the middle quarters. Tyler Minick had a team-high 11 points. The senior forward fouled out with 1:35 left in the third period. Gov. Mifflin was down 52-28 entering the final quarter. Minick sank two of their three triples. Gerrell McNeil, who came in averaging 13 points, was limited to seven. The Mustangs committed 24 turnovers in the first three periods. I asked Coach Flowers how they’re overcoming their lack of size now that Edwin Suarez has graduated. He replied, “We stress five guys go for a defensive rebound, five guys go for the glass. We’re team rebounding right now.” Suarez gave Muhlenberg nearly 19 points and 15 rebounds per contest a season ago. The Muhls went (18-7, 9-2) and won the Division 2 championship. They’ve moved up to Division 1 this year. “I’m okay with it. We want to be the best so we have to play against the best,” emphasized Flowers. He was named Berks County Coach of the Year after his first season at the helm in Muhlenberg. Flowers mentioned that his team will be shooting plenty of free throws Saturday morning. They were 15-of-28 versus Gov. Mifflin. The Muhls travel to Easton on Saturday. Flowers also revealed what he hopes to get for Christmas. It’s certainly not a small gift. His substitutes gave him a nice present on Friday.